Who did settle down first in The USA?

Many theories exist about how people first got to the Americas, but there are three really
predominant theories:
Bering Land Bridge: he idea is that during the last ice age, about 20,000 years ago (or a little less),
lower water levels created a frozen bridge of land. The first settlers of the Americas are believed to
have come across this land bridge called Beringia.
Atlantic Theory: this theory actually involves boats. That's right, boats! It's probably hard to
believe that Stone Age people were crossing the ocean, but people have actually tried to reproduce
vessels with Stone Age tools, supplies and everything
Oceania Theory: anthropologists and linguists couldn't help but notice that the culture and
languages of South America had oddly similar traits to those of Australia and Polynesia. This theory
would also mean people would have had to use boats, but this time to cross the Pacific.

- Archaeologists believe that there was a migration from Asia. (Bering Land Bridge) (13000-
3000 BC)
- The first “Americans” crossed the land bridge from Asia. Historians believe that they lived in
what now is Alaska for thousands of years. They moved south into today’s mainland United
States.
- The first wave of immigrant settlement took between (15000-9000 BC) to complete and it
brought the Hohokam, Adenans, Hopewellians, and Anasazi

- The second wave of immigrant was around (8000 BC) crossing the narrow straight using the
sea, because at that time the water level rose and the land starts to be submerged.
 The second wave brought the ancestors of two tribes:
Navajo - Apatche and the ancestors of Eskimo, the Aleut and Inuit tribes
- After the rise of the sea, there was a cut between these people and Asia.

Who did colonize The USA first?

THERE ARE MANY THEORIES REGARDING WHO WAS THE FIRST ONE TO COLONIZE THE USA, BUT HERE ARE TWO
INTERESTING ONES.

The first one is Leif Ericson (the Vikings) 500 years before Christopher Columbus:

1- Leif Eriksson set sail with a crew of 35 men to explore the seas even further to the west going
well beyond Greenland.
2- Eriksson landed in a place he called Vinland and Vinland was part of what we now call North
America (Canada)
The second one are Muslims of Mali (king Manson Musa):
Some of the strongest evidence comes from the pen of Columbus himself, who wrote in his journal
that Native Americans confirmed that black skin people had come from the southeast in boats,
trading in gold tipped spears, and clothes similar to the Muslim Moors of Spain. And that shows that
the relationship between Africans and Americans didn’t begin with slavery, but with sailors,
explorers, and kings.
 The situation of Europe before discovering America 1492 (the fall of Andalusia and the
rise of the European development after the dark ages)
Europe was poor and most of them were farmers working in fields and paying taxes to the lord
(Feudalism)

1- Italy by that time has a good economic situation, they had ships and businesses, but the
problem was the Muslims (Ottomans) who were the rulers of the Mediterranean Sea and
controllers of the Silk Road.
2- The enmity between Muslims and Christians were strong due to the conflict in regards of
Palestine, if it belongs to Muslims or Christians (Christians believe that Palestine was the
birthplace of Jesus) the thing that started the crusade war
3- The tension between Muslims and Christians was so high that is why it was hard for
Europeans to go to India and China and here they started to think about the discovery of a
new way to India. The idea was going all across the coast of Africa, but the trip requires a lot
of money that is why Italians made a contract with Spain and Portugal to sponsor their trip.

The first sponsor was the Portuguese Prince Henry the navigator
• He sponsored Bartolomeu Dias (who reached the cape of good hope in South Africa)
• Vasgo Da Gama, who continued the road until he reached India with the help of an
Arab called Ibn Majid (because in that time Arabs were knowledgeable, and had
scientific tools)
The problem of this road is that it was too long, the thing that pushed Europeans to start
thinking about a new road to reach India.
They thought about sailing to India on the other side. That explains why Europeans called
Americans “Indians”. Because, they thought that what they had discovered was India not
USA

Christopher Columbus
The most famous explorer was Christopher Columbus. He was Italian, but Queen Isabella of
Spain paid for his trips. Columbus landed on islands in the Caribbean Sea in 1492. He never
reached what is now the United States. He committed an ethnic cleansing against the native
Indians (in fact, after the outrage caused by Floyd’s death, Americans start rewriting history
by renaming the Cristopher Columbus’ day to indigenous day).

Who was the first one claimed America for the English?

1- John Cabot
In 1497, John Cabot, an Italian explorer sailing for England sponsored by King Henry the 7th. He
started his voyage from Bristol through Ireland and then landed in eastern Canada (Labrador).
His arrival established a British claim to land in North America. When he went back to Britain he
brought with him three Inuit men and within a couple of years they adapted to the English lifestyle
and convinced the British that the native people of America could be transformed into British
civilized people.

2- Amerigo Vespucci
1- Amerigo Vespucci explored further north. The two American continents were named after
Amerigo Vespucci.
2- He was one of the firsts to realize that south and North America were nowhere near as and
they are two spared continents. (New world)
 The Establishment of English Colonies
The first two British expeditions reached the Roanoke Island (North Carolina)
1. In the first time they couldn’t resist the harsh environment and had hard time farming, so
they decided to go back to England.
2. The second attempt which was sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh. A motivated group sat
out in 1587, and establishes this permanent village on the island of Roanoke, just off the
coast of Virginia. It was supposed to be resupplied every year, but the English distracted,
because they were fighting this war with Spain. By the time the supply ships finally
returned almost three years later, the colony has completely vanished all they found are
the bones of one man and a word (CROATOAN) carved on a post left in the encampment.
This word has turned into one of these mythical legends Of American history.

3. The third attempt was Jamestown colony 1607 (Virginia)

It was the first permanent settlement of Britain in North America. It was named after their
King, James I.
4. In December 1620, the Mayflower arrived on the northeastern coast of America with a
shipload of people now called Pilgrims. After landing outside the territory of Virginia, the
colonists had no legal responsibilities or protection from the company. They wrote and
signed the Mayflower Compact, a democratic government for the colony. Half of the
colonists died that first winter while they remained aboard the ship, including their
governor. Despite the advantage of building their new community in an abandoned
Indian village, they still had trouble in the spring because they couldn't get their own
crops to grow in the New World. They were saved by an English-speaking Indian, named
Squanto, who taught them how to survive. Then the new governor, William Bradford,
signed a mutual-defense treaty with the local Wampanoag Indians. After their first
harvest, they established the tradition of Thanksgiving. But as the colony grew, the
settlers found themselves at war with many of the local tribes

The French and Indian war (seven years’ war)

1756-1763
Background
France was not interested in colonizing America, but they were interested in trading, that is why
they established a good relationship with Native Americans.
The good relationship between France and the natives created a conflict between France and British
colonists.
The reasons of the conflict
 The conflict began because both Britain and France claimed the upper Ohio River valley
territory.
 Mercantilism: is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize
the imports for an economy.
 Details

 The Albany Plan of Union, Benjamin Franklin

 France built forts in the Ohio valley, In June 1954, Benjamin Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of
Union. The plan was based on the idea that the British colonies would benefit from greater unity
against the French power.
 From 13 colonies, only 7 joined the debate in Albany, New York.
 The colonists rejected Franklin’s plan, but it later provided a model for the United States
government.
 The Preparation for the war
 In late 1754, France sent several army regiments to defend Canadian territory.
 In late 1754. Britain sent professional soldiers to America commanded by General
Edward Braddock.
 In 1756, Great Britain formally declared war on France
 At the beginning of the France and Britain war, France won most of the battles
against the British which were under the command of Edward Braddock .
 William Pitt, Britain’s prime minister persuaded Parliament to raise taxes and borrow
money (getting in debt) to fight the war.
 In 1758, better-prepared and better-led British troops began to overwhelm the
French and Native American forces
 After the war
The colonists:
 Acquired land to expand
 Gained valuable military experience
 Found their first "American" hero… G. Washington
 Learned how to cooperate
 Began to think of themselves as "Americans
 The proclamation of 1763
 After Britain won a costly war against France, the colonies were waiting to expand,
but King George the 3rd issued the Proclamation of 1763 which restricted the
colonists from settling new land and set the Appalachian Mountains as the
boundaries.
 The heavy debt pushed British authority to impose taxation on the colonists.
 The colonists raised a slogan against the imposed taxes (taxation without
representation is tyranny), which marked the beginning of conflict between the
colonists and Britain. the colonists did not abide by the proclamation and started to
Colonize and go further the Appalachian Mountains.
All these factors lead to the American Revolution.

American Revolution (1775-1783)

 Causes
 The Proclamation of 1763
 Parliament also needed to restock the Treasury and it imposed heavier taxes on
British colonists.
 More taxes were added on imports, leading to the Boston Tea Party, when colonists
destroyed a shipment of British tea in protest.
 The Sugar Act
 the Stamp Act
 The common sense article: is an article written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776
advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies.
  the Declaration of Independence, which was essentially the letter to King George III
that laid out the legal separation between mother country and the American
colonies. Every signatory to the Declaration of Independence is considered a
Founding Father
The Revolutionary War was fought between 1775-1783. The war was just one part of the bigger
American Revolution! The Boston Tea Party took place in December 1773, when American colonists
sneaked aboard a British ship loaded with tea and dumped crates of tea into Boston Harbor. The
Battle of Lexington and Concord was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. It was fought in April
1775 and proved to be an American victory. George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on
Christmas night, 1776, allowed American forces to capture Trenton, New Jersey. The Battle of
Yorktown was the last major battle of the war. That American victory helped bring about the end of
the war, along with the Treaty of Paris, which was signed in September 1783.

Manifest destiny
The idea of westward expansion was based on the concept of Manifest destiny.

Manifest destiny: a phrase coined in 1845, is the idea that the United States is destined—by God, its
advocates believed—to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire
North American continent.

This philosophy drove 19th-century U.S. territorial expansion and was used to justify the forced
removal of Native Americans and other groups from their homes.

The rapid expansion of the United States intensified the issue of slavery as new states were added to
the Union, leading to the outbreak of the Civil War.

The transcontinental railroad built by the Irish, Indians, and Chinese

Let's review. For decades, a transcontinental railroad had been a goal of American farmers,
businessmen, and politicians alike. After surmounting obstacles in technology, politics, and logistics,
the federal government assigned contracts to two companies to build the first railroad to stretch
across the country. Beginning in California, the Central Pacific worked its way east, while the Union
Pacific worked its way west from Nebraska. Despite enormous difficulties, the two lines met at
Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869. The first transcontinental railroad was complete.

Ways of expansion
1- Eradication of the Native Americans
2- American colonists take the land from the natives and force them to move to small
reservations: Settlers felt justified in taking Native Americans land because they felt they
were making the land more productive.
3- Decrease the Native Americans population
 Warfare – native Americans fought back, ex: (the wounded knee massacre)
 Disease: American colonists spread diseases among natives.
4- Lifestyle changes
  Forced assimilation: American colonists killed bison, which was the source of food and
clothes, to force the natives to assimilate.
 Association through education and changing the life style of Native Americans
5- Government breaks treaties:
 Treaty With the Delaware/Treaty of Fort Pitt – 1778
 Treaty of Hopewell - 1785-86
 Treaty of Greeneville - 1795

2- The Mexican American war

Mexico was colonized by Spain for 300 year, but eventually got its independence in 1821.

Texas back then was still a Mexican territory and it was an unstable area. Mexico invited Americans
to settle down in Texas under three conditions:

1- The American settlers will be under the Mexican Law

2- The settlers must be Catholics
3- No slavery
Stephen F. Austin, the father of Texas, invested money in settlement.

 The consequences of the American settlement in Texas

 The number of American settlers started to increase in Texas
 The settlers did not respect the conditions of settlement, and they started to bring slaves
 People in Texas did not want to be ruled by Santa Anna, because he was a dictator.
 Sam Houston was elected as president of Texas. Government instability led Texas to declare
its independence and petition for annexation into the United States. After admitting the
territory, President Polk sent a diplomat to settle old disputes and offer to buy even more
land. Mexico refused to discuss anything. Frustrated, Polk sent the army to occupy disputed
borderland, leading to the Mexican-American War
 The war ended up after two years with Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1848 (USA won the war)

Guadalupe-Hidalgo 1848
 Mexico gave up claims to Texas above the Rio Grande River.
 Mexico gave the U.S California and New Mexico.
 U.S gave Mexico 15,000,000$ and agreed to pay the claims of Americans citizens against
Mexico (over $3,500,000).

3- African Americans (Slavery in America 1609, 1865)

Why not enslave the native population?

Native Americans were new to being exposed to European disease; they were likely to catch them.
They were on their home turf and could escape more easily. They also had political allies that could
fight against the slave holders.
Why did they use enslaved Africans?
Slavery had earlier taken hold in the Caribbean. It only took 2-6 weeks to get to the colonies from the
Caribbean. Other factors included:
 Experience - they had previous experience and knowledge working in sugar and rice production.
 Immunity from diseases - they were less likely to get sick due to prolonged contact over
centuries.
 Low escape possibilities - they did not know the land, had no allies, and were highly visible
because of skin color.
How did African slaves find themselves in the New World?
The Triangle Trade route was the flow of raw material from American colonies to Europe followed by
manufactured goods leaving Europe for African Markets. Those manufactured items were traded for
enslaved Africans, who were transported on the middle passage to the American colonies.

Arrival in America
Destination, auction, and seasoning
Most Africans landed in Brazil coming from Ghana and Senegal (the door of no return). Very few
actually landed in North America. Slaves were auctioned off to the highest bidder, and then were put
through a process of 'seasoning' to get them ready for work. They learned a European language. They
were given a European name and were shown work expectations.
How did slaves live?
The slave codes were rules for all slaves. They included that slaves could not: leave their home
without a pass, carry a weapon, gather in groups, own property, legally marry, defend themselves
against a white person, or speak in court.
Punishment
Slaves were often brutally punished for misbehaving. Punishments including whipping, branding,
being sold, gagged, and just about any other way to inhumanely treat a person were used.
How did slaves resist?
One way was flight. Slaves would run away. Another that's close is truancy. A slave would run away
for a short amount of time, and then then they would come back. Other forms of resistance included:
 Refusal to reproduce - enslaved women would refuse to have children.
 Covert action - slaves would sometimes kill livestock, destroy crops, start fires, steal stuff, break
tools, poison food, and do pretty much do anything to throw a wrench in the slavery machine.
Revolts
There were four major slave revolts:
 The Stono Rebellion was a failed revolt in South Carolina in 1739.
 Gabriel Prosser led a failed revolt in Virginia in 1800.
 Denmark Vesey led a failed revolt in South Carolina in 1822.
 Nat Turner killed 60 white people in Virginia in 1831.
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was not a physical railroad, but rather a secret system of paths, safe
houses, and people that helped slaves escape from the South in the years before the Civil War. It
likely started up around 1830 and continued until slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865.
No one specific organization or leader took charge of the Underground Railroad, though there were
famous figures who were part of it, like Harriet Tubman. Many of the people who wanted slavery to
end, also known as abolitionists, participated in helping slaves make their way to freedom.
Abolishing Slavery
In 1861, Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Lincoln supported the anti-slavery movement,
which made people in the south nervous (because their economic relay on agriculture and they need
slaves to work for them). Afraid that he would end slavery, the south (under the lead of Jefferson
Davis) separated from the north (under the lead of Abraham Lincoln), which led to the Civil War
1861-1865. The north eventually won the war in 1865 and Abraham Lincoln created the
Emancipation Proclamation, which stated that slaves in the south were to be set free

Civil war
The American Civil War: this was a conflict fought between 1861-1865 between the North and the
South
Sectionalism: Instead of citizens identifying themselves as 'Americans,' many people chose to see
themselves firstly as 'Northerners' or 'Southerners.' Cultural differences and economic differences
fueled sectionalism in antebellum America.
Abraham Lincoln: he was elected President of the United States in the election of 1860 and led the
Union against the Confederates
Jefferson Davis: he served as President of the Confederate States of America throughout the war
against the Union
Battle of Fort Sumter: this was the first battle of the war near Charleston, SC, in which the South won
Battle of Gettysburg: this was the battle that turned the tide against the South and was the deadliest
battle of the war; and finally
Appomattox Court House: this was the location of Robert E. Lee's surrender to U.S. Grant in 1865,
ending the Civil War once and for all.
4-American imperialism
Motivations for U.S. Expansion
Economic Interests
- After Industrialization, countries needed new customers for their goods, new places to invest, and
additional natural resources
Military Needs
- Navies created to protect trading interests
- Needed naval bases around the world -> refuel, make repairs
Ideology
- Nationalism: territorial conquest enhanced power
- Cultural Superiority: "White Man's Burden",
• Non-industrialized nations 'backwards'
•Industrialized countries should help civilize them.

American Influence in the Pacific

Alaska
Purchased from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million
Hawaii (was taken by force)
• 2,000 miles west of California
• Queen Liliuokalani was forced to abdicate
• Annexation- occurred under President McKinley in 1898
• Statehood granted in 1959
• Ideal spot for coaling stations and naval bases for ships traveling from and to Asia
 The Spanish American war
The Back Story
 Spanish was colonizing Cuba and Puerto Rico
 The Cubans revolted against the Spanish
 The Spanish took the Cubans who revolted in concentration camps and starve them to death
 Cuban desired for independence
America got involved
Spanish explode a USS MAINE, which was in Cuba to protect the Americans there
America declares war on Spain in Cuba and Philippines (they were colonized by Spain)

End of War Treaty

Spain must give up all claims to Cuba
• Spain must cede territory of Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States
• In exchange of $20 million Spain turns control of the Philippines to the United States
• Cost of war to the U.S.
- $250 million
- 2,000 soldiers died (most from yellow fever)
• Cost off-set by.
- U.S. now an imperialist nation

2 –The 5 American Values

1- Egalitarianism (Equality)
Egalitarianism is based on:
- Society of equals
- No nobility or royalty
- Availability of property to all who would work hard
Two exceptions:
• Slavery
• Treatment of Native Americans

2. Populism (Pоpular sovereignty)

• Participation of the common man in political life
• Political Liberty
3. Liberty
• Protection against tyrannical government
• Constitution protects against "tyranny of the majority"
• Rule of Law
• Religious faith helped to strengthen a belief in individual liberty

4. Individualism
THE INDIVIDUAL VS THE COLLECTIVE Every man is an end in himself, not a means the ends of others.
• Government does not direct human activity in the US as it had in Europe
• Individuals could rise in society based on their own efforts; not restricted by heredity
 5. Laissez-Faire
Laissez-Faire = "hands off"
• Capitalism/ Free Enterprise System
• Adam Smith: urge the government to let people invest and not interfere in businesses "The Wealth
of Nations" 1776
Constitution? Confederation? & Federation? Bill of Rights?
• Constitution defines the principal organs of government and their jurisdictions and the basic rights
of citizens.
• Confederation means a union of sovereign states in which the stress is laid on the autonomy of
each constituent.
• Federation implies a union of states in which the stress is laid on the supremacy of the common
government.
• Bill of Rights refer to the first 10 amendments to the US constitution which were adopted in 1791,
which provided guarantees of individual rights and put limitations on federal and state governments.
The Bill of Rights derives from the Magna Carta (1215) and the English Bill of
Rights (1689).

The American constitution

What made the American constitution a strong document?
1- Constitutional principles:
 popular sovereignty: The people have the power through voting
 Limited government: Government of the states; each state has its own law
 republicanism: voters elect representative to make the law
 Federalism: a form of government, the power is divided between the national and the
state governments and in each state there is a government. it was formed under the
reign of James Madison the 4th president of USA
 Separation of power: separating legislative (congress), executive (government), and
judicial (courts) authorities from eachothers and each one is controlling the other.
 Checks and balances, principle of government under which separate branches are
empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are induced to share power.
Checks and balances are applied primarily in constitutional governments.

adaptability: the rules/laws are flexible ad changing with the change of reality, (13
Amendment as an example with slavery)